Quiet
by B00k Freak
Summary: Post-SEEDS, Skye comes to sit with May in the cockpit to avoid Coulson's staring.


**a.n. I hope we are all ready for tonight's episode! No spoilers in reviews please, I don't get a chance to watch it until about 6-7 hours after it airs cos I have uni. Here is some pre-emptive fic that will hopefully make some people feel a bit better!**

Melinda May had had some long, tiring, and stressful days before. This one definitely ranked in her top five. Not only was she worried sick about her best friend, not only was she scared to death that he might lose it at any moment, not only was she hunting down the truth about Skye's past, which was dangerous when they _didn't_ know anything, and gotten some pretty impressive bruises from being hit with a plank, but after that they all got to fly into a superstorm to rescue some SciTech trainees.

So she was glad that now she had some time to rest, just sit in the cockpit and watch the night take over.

May didn't know what the others were doing. Probably sleeping, though she doubted Skye and Coulson would get much. She was worried about Skye. She understood why Coulson needed to tell her the truth, but that kind of a response to her search was... heartbreaking.

And it raised more questions than it answered.

Almost an hour after they took off, the cockpit door opened softly.

May turned to see who it was and saw Skye standing there hesitantly. Waiting for May to tell her to leave.

May turned back to the window.

A moment later Skye curled up in the co-pilots seat. She didn't say anything. She didn't always understand May, but they had their moments of clarity. After Coulson had explained a bit, Skye was ashamed of the things she had said to May, and she was trying to see her better now. She could, most of the time.

Staring out at the night was intimidating. The blackness seemed to go on forever, swallowing everything in it's path. Unstoppable.

May flicked on the autopilot, stood, and left.

Skye sighed. Okay. If she knew that May didn't want her here then she would have left her in peace, but maybe May didn't feel like starting an argument tonight.

A few minutes later May returned. Skye turned to look when she heard the door open, blinking back the tears that had been starting to build up and swallowing the lump in her throat. The pilot carried two steaming mugs. When she looked at Skye, something in her seemed to soften. She handed the hacker one of the mugs.

Skye grasped the hot ceramic with both hands. It was hot chocolate. "Thanks." She mumbled. They both knew she wasn't only talking about the drink.

"Any time."

"Coulson wouldn't stop _staring_ at me." She said, "Like I was about to explode or something. I had to get away from him." If she even thought about what he told her, he would know. She needed some quiet, to think. Alone. She could be alone with May there.

A smile tugged at May's lips. "You know he's not afraid of me, right?" Skye shrugged. "He's just worried. He probably thinks he's being subtle."

"Well he's not."

"It's one of his weaker points." May acknowledged. She understood the need to be a bit of a mess sometimes.

Skye took a sip of the drink and grinned slightly. She didn't think anyone had noticed that she put a shot of Baileys in with her hot chocolate, but apparently May had.

They sat in silence for a while. Neither expected conversation, which was fine. The darkness didn't seem as intimidating now that Skye was facing it with someone. She could see the comfort in it, the possibilities that came from it, the warmth. After almost an hour of silence, May glanced at the clock on the dashboard and pressed a button.

Soft piano music began to play from the speaker. "What's this?" Skye asked as the vocalist began to sing the melancholy tune.

"Elton John." The pilot mumbled.

Skye teared up at the chorus to 'Candle in the Wind', at which point May messed up her hair with one hand, not looking her way. Skye grinned and shoved her away, noting the smile on May's own face. Not long after that Skye dozed off and May pulled a blanket out from the locker, which she draped over the hacker.

Coulson knocked on the cockpit door the next morning to find that the two were still asleep in their seats, autopilot on and 'Rocket Man' drifting from the speakers.


End file.
